The bill was tabled by Hon. Margaret Rwabushaija (IND., Workers) during plenary sitting on Wednesday, September 21, 2022.
Employment (Amendment) Bill, 2022 to regulate employment of Ugandans abroad
The Employment (Amendment) Bill, 2022 that seeks to among others regulate the employment of casual workers, has been re-tabled for First Reading.
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The bill seeks to regulate the employment of Ugandans abroad by mandating the minister responsible to prescribe minimum employment standards applicable to persons who are recruited for employment abroad.
The minimum employment standards according to the bill include job description, working hours, guaranteed wages and emoluments and workers compensation benefits, and war hazard protection among others.
The bill states that the Employment (Recruitment of Migrant Workers) Regulations, 2005 does not provide principle provisions on the recruitment and placement of Ugandan migrant workers for work abroad.
It explains that the lack of comprehensive provisions regulating the recruitment and employment of migrant workers has resulted into reports of Uganda migrant workers ending up in conditions indicative of human trafficking, limited monitoring and protection and, in the worst case scenarios, losing lives.
Further to that, the bill seeks to regulate employment of migrant workers in Uganda, arguing that the current Employment Act only prohibits the illicit movements of migrant workers in and out of the country.
The proposed law tasks an employer to ensure that the migrant worker has a valid work permit, as well as keep register of all migrant workers employed at the work place.
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